Fire Calls In Benton Harbor Down In 2016

firetruck2-6
firetruck2-6

Calls for fire service have been down in the city of Benton Harbor. Acting Public Safety Director Dan McGinnis tells our newsroom they had 498 fire calls in 2015, but just 273 in 2016. He notes this past winter was noticeably safer.

“The winter time, we would usually see an increase in house fires because people were supplementing their heating with their stoves, or putting a lot of heaters into one outlet, but we’ve been putting out a lot of information, even to kids in school, about being safe at home, and we think that’s helpful,” McGinnis said.

Also, the warm weather this winter has probably helped. McGinnis says efforts to educate the public on fire prevention have also helped, noting the department has been doing more to teach kids and seniors to be safe. Another positive has been the demolition of vacant houses.